The Jacobs Center is an operating nonprofit foundation that works in partnership with the Jacobs Family Foundation and residents of San Diego’s Diamond Neighborhoods to build a stronger community through entrepreneurial projects, hands-on learning relationships, and the creative investment of resources.

The Jacobs Center is very interested in the development of San Francisco’s southeastern neighborhoods and wants to take this opportunity to present their experiences with The Village at Market Creek and discuss potential innovation strategies that benefit the existing community members.

The Village at Market Creek was built on a 60-acre brownfield, surrounded by blighted properties that were transformed into a healthy vibrant neighborhood. Its original goal was to secure the community’s first grocery store, something that had been missing for more than 30 years. Resident teams expanded the vision to include a full commercial and cultural center.

The project became a powerful platform for collective action and investment, with “resident ownership of neighborhood change” growing to mean ownership of the implementation of the projects within The Village. Today, the Village at Market Creek’s teams continues to put the building blocks in place for a vibrant cultural village built on the strength of citizen action. It is an example of how an engaged residential community can find the pathway to change and build communities of opportunity and caring.